The UmBlog

I listened to all of the Acts of the Apostles today in today's Lenten reading . I did not read a word. Nevertheless, it's a great aural experience. Luke tells a good story. He flashes back a little before the end of his gospel. Before Jesus departs to heaven, he tells the disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit . While worshiping, the Holy Spirit comes on the community and crazy stuff happens. They worship God in new languages. Flames flicker over their heads. It's wild and it draws a crowd, to whom Peter preaches. Thousands are converted to following Jesus after this sermon and they start living communally like a bunch of hippies. But the religious establishment that tried to kill Jesus doesn't like it at all. So they commence the beatings and jailings. One of their chief Capos is a Pharisee named Saul. He presides over a spontaneous stoning of a Christian deacon named Stephen. But Jesus personally intervenes and confronts Saul on his way to Damascus. He also temporar...

Great editorial by Lee Grady of Charisma magazine. Todd Bentley is still in sin with an intern/nanny, still seeking to divorce his wife, hasn't seen his kids since July, and, obviously, remains unaccountable. Grady says the lessons are: Accountability from the beginning, teams not stars, Sabbath , character matters more than gifting, don't cheer to quickly, and repentance as a reliable sign of revival.

Welcome to this week's Top 10 . I've been too busy to blog lately, but I've still had time to read the feeds. If you'd like to see what i find interesting other than these top 10, look at the top of the blog or click here . And without further ado... Church I have a few selections from in this category. Subheading: Conversion Guy Muse has two of importance this week. Follow up on new converts is essential. A first person account of joining a church from the St. Paul's blog. Sociologist Bradley Wright compares the NYT map of megachurches with population density. Subheading Missions Guy follows up this week with shared lessons on starting a church planting movement . Subheading Charismata In memoriam of John Wimber who went to heaven 10 years ago. Subheading Theology J.P. Moreland warns against replacing the power of God with Bibliolatry . Native Americans Indigenous names leave their mark all over the U.S. Yet Americans still think it's not a problem to use...

in the news Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania took brain images of five women while they spoke in tongues and found that their frontal lobes — the thinking, willful part of the brain through which people control what they do — were relatively quiet, as were the language centers. The regions involved in maintaining self-consciousness were active. The women were not in blind trances, and it was unclear which region was driving the behavior... Contrary to what may be a common perception, studies suggest that people who speak in tongues rarely suffer from mental problems. A recent study of nearly 1,000 evangelical Christians in England found that those who engaged in the practice were more emotionally stable than those who did not. Researchers have identified at least two forms of the practice, one ecstatic and frenzied, the other subdued and nearly silent. The new findings contrasted sharply with images taken of other spiritually inspired mental states like meditation, which ...

A reformed Charismatic has been doing a pro-charismatic gifts series, Adrian Warnock...

it is a sad day that Paul's explanation of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians is so horribly wrestled to the ground and denied its meaning when leaders from the Southern Baptist missions board, IMB, come up with stuff like this ( PDF ) HATLEY: Paul would have no problem serving with the IMB. We based this policy on his teachings. My own interpretation of his work is to use the more simple and obvious interpretation in the context of that day, not ours. As such I substitute the word “language” everywhere the word “tongue” or “unknown tongue” appears. That is because the word used by Paul was glossa (from which we receive our word glossary). Paul spoke in many languages, known by his own studies and perhaps was, as a missionary, given the supernatural ability to speak to new language groups encountered on the field. In such an instance he would not understand the language he used but would know the Gospel was being given through his lips by a miracle, which also served to give authori...

Pastor Jon has a helpful interpretation here... 4. (34-35) Women should not judge prophecy or disrupt meetings. Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church. a. Let your women keep silent in the churches : Paul has already assumed the right of women to pray or prophecy publicly (as stated in 1 Corinthians 11:1-16 ). Here, he probably is saying women do not have the right to judge prophecy, something restricted to the male leadership of the church. i. Instead of judging prophecy, women should be submissive to what the leadership of the church judges regarding words of prophecy. b. If they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home : In the ancient world, just as in some modern cultures, women and men sit in different groups at church. Among the ...

Julian, who blogs at Christian Thought met some reformed charismatics and has thoughts like this... 1. 1 Corinthians 13.8-13 . This is not profound, but merely an acknowledgement of what the majority of evangelicalism has already said: these verses are not referring to the closing of the canon. Without this text, the intratextual evidence for any strong cessationist position is incredibly weak. To my knowledge this is the only text cessationists use to argue their position that Paul knew of the gifts coming to an end. Further, even if we could allow that this text is speaking of these gifts (tongues, prophecies, and knowledge), then why do we include things like the gift of healing in the list of gifts which have ceased?

"The survey estimated that Pentecostals and charismatics together comprise at least half the population of Brazil, Guatemala and Kenya, and 44 percent of the Philippines. They make up about one-third of the population of South Africa and Chile and nearly one-quarter of Nigerians and U.S. residents. The figure for South Korea is smaller, at 11 percent. In India, the poll was limited to three states with large Christian populations, so a national estimate could not be made. The study found Pentecostal beliefs have a strong hold in major churches in many countries."

his outline adds alot more flesh to the flimsy skeletal outline i made. there are more studies of his in Corinthians at this link

i had a cool experience at my spiritual gifts class last night. if you attend a church like mine, someone rising up and speaking in tongues on Sunday morning is not the norm. it isn't prohibited, just not expected. so my class becomes a sandbox of sorts, where people can risk expressing their gifts. but one gift you'd never know you have is the interpretation of tongues unless you hear someone speak to the group in tongues, rather than overhear someone worshipping privately in tongues. so last week, i closed in prayer and in tongues. no one that night stood up with an interpretation. last night, i wanted to encourage anyone who might have thought they understood something to risk sharing what they heard. the cool thing was someone did understand something, a person who in previous weeks, was not sure what gifts God had given them. she didn't understand much of it, but she did understand the phrase, "My God," being repeated. i'm so happy for this person. we in...

7- the end is near, focus and pray 8- LOVE (1 Cor 13) 9- service with a smile 10- Use whatever gifts you’ve been given to serve others (1 Cor12:7) consistently giving out the grace God gave you (Romans 12:6, Eph 4:7) 11- Speaking with God’s words Serving with God’s strength Ensuring God gets all the praise through the Son (by the gifts given by the Spirit)

The Shakers were a charismatic and heretical group of Christianity in early America, 18th-19th centuries. This site reprints with favor some of their early writings. Since not all the writings are present, i wonder if the embarassing stuff has been left out. According to Answers.com there is one community still active in Massachusetts. The Answers.com entry includes this, One of the fundamental doctrines of the society was belief in the dual nature of the Deity. The male principle was incarnated in Jesus; the female principle, in Mother Ann. Other tenets were celibacy, open confession of sins, communal ownership of possessions in the advanced groups, separation from the world, pacifism, equality of the sexes, and consecrated work. Singing, dancing, and marching characterized phases of Shaker worship. The community was organized into groups, called families, of between 30 and 90 individuals. The believers donated their services and possessions but were always free to leave. Shaker furn...

notes for my spiritual gifts class...[updated and color-coded] stuff from 12 from 13 from 14 Message of wisdom Message of knowledge Faith Move mountains Gifts of healing Possessors of gifts of healing Miraculous powers Miracle workers Prophecy Prophets Fathom mysteries and knowledge Speaks strength, encouragement, and comfort Builds the church For believers Can be controlled Be eager for Expose secrets of the heart Prophecies need to be weighed Instructs and encourages Distinguish between spirits Speak in different tongues Speakers in tongues Tongues of men and angels Speaks to God not men Utters mysteries Builds himself Needs to ask for interpretation Prays in spirit but not in mind May be giving thanks A sign for unbelievers Should be kept private if no interpretation available Don’t forbid it Interpretation of tongues Apostles Can bring revelation, knowledge, prophecy, word of instruction Teachers ...

awesome article by Chris Armstrong in CT. here are some choice excerpts: A typical Pentecostal service follows no printed order; bulletins, if present, contain only announcements. After all, why should an order be needed? "All the members expect anyone of the local assembly to follow the Spirit's leading," Pentecostal scholar Russell Spittler has written, "and to do so at once." This sort of congregational freedom has marked Pentecostalism from its beginning, along with a unique emphasis on the "priesthood of all believers." Azusa Street pastor William J. Seymour, the driving force behind the earliest Pentecostal revival, typified a new breed of church leader. He allowed and encouraged worshipers to exercise their gifts during services, providing what Fuller professor Cecil M. Robeck has called "a forum for various members of his congregation to make their case or to demonstrate their charism in the context of the worshiping community, without...

By JIM JONES Special to the Star-Telegram DWIGHT MCKISSIC More photos FORT WORTH -- Southwestern Seminary President Paige Patterson has issued an unusual rebuke to the Rev. Dwight McKissic, a seminary trustee and prominent Arlington pastor, for acknowledging during a chapel service that he sometimes speaks in tongues when he prays. After Tuesday's chapel service, Patterson issued a statement that the video of McKissic's sermon will not be posted online or saved in the archives of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, as are the sermons of all other chapel speakers. Patterson withheld McKissic's chapel message from the school's Web site, the statement said, "lest uninformed people believe that Pastor McKissic's view on the gift of tongues and 'ecstatic utterance' is the view of the majority of the people at Southwestern." McKissic said he understands and respects Patterson's view -- and insisted that the incident ...

This pastor doesn’t advocate hearing voices, but he happened to hear one and it is fascinating to hear the range of responses in the comments. Not that this guy is hearing anything cultic, but some people want to be around others who hear from God, so if you wanted a following, start claiming God converses with you. It really is the easiest way to start a cult. God warns against it too, in his conversation with Moses. Deuteronomy 13 Worshiping Other Gods 1 If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, 2 and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," 3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. ...

I'm linking to Part 2 but Part 1 is good too. I like this statement by Grudem, "Another widely-respected British Evangelical leader fifteen years ago said to me that the battle between cessationists and non-cessationists in England is over. The cessationists have lost. Or the charismatics have won. I'm not sure exactly what he said but it was something like that. And that's the case, I think, in almost the entire world outside the United States."